Soy Laser Toner Cartridges Offer Alternative

Soy ink has been available for some time, but now Print Recovery Concepts Technologies is selling laser printer cartridges using toner powder derived from soybeans.

Debe Overhaugh, president of PRC Technologies, says SoyPrint cartridges can help offices become more environmentally friendly and help reduce America’s dependence on oil. It takes about 2 liters of oil to produce the toner in a regular cartridge. Overhaugh estimates that the U.S. uses 200 million liters of oil annually to produce the toner in cartridges.

The company is selling the cartridges under the SoyPrint brand, which cost between $60 to around $200 depending on the model. For example, SoyPrint’s version of C4182X cartridges are priced at $175 compared with a HP cartridge which retails for $222.99 on its Web site.